Theology

Paris: Didot Junior, Typographiae Fratris Regis, 1788. Tree Calf with morocco spine, 13 1/2 inches tall. A magnificent and most unusual French 18th century binding with a straight grain morocco binding with two green calf labels and wonderful gilt floral tooling. A superb gilt vine roll frames the boards. Lovely printed bookseller's ticket on the paste down end paper. Engraved title page and frontispiece. Pristine condition. In the original Latin. Since its first printing in 1471-2, 'The Imitation of Christ' has remained one of the most enduring and popular of all Christian devotional works.

London: Robinson, 1786. Full calf, 10 1/2 inches tall. A splendid copy of this scarce work with the elaborate bookplate of the Earls of Londonderry at Wynyard Park in full 18th century calf with gilt bands in the Etruscan key style, red label and blue edges. Complete with folding map and 18 plates. A remarkable volume with splendid provenance.

Paris: L. Curmer, 1861. Full morocco, 13.25 inches tall. An extraordinary binding by Riviere with gilt titles to the spine and both boards and extraordinary blind tooling to the panels, boards and doublures. Vellum endpapers. All edges gilt. This is the text volume, red ruled throughout, and is offered WITHOUT the Plates. In 'Fine and Historic Bookbindings from the Folger Shakespeare Library', published in 1992 a very similar binding is described and illustrated (page 222, item 14:5). It is described as 'a Pastiche of a 16th Century Panel-Stamped Binding by Riviere and Son, c.1881'.

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1816. 3 volume set, bound in 6, 10 inches tall. A magnificent Georgian binding in full crushed morocco by J. Mackenzie Bookbinder to the King with raised bands and superb extra gilt tooling to the panels. A smart series of gilt fillets frame the boards. Gilt dentelles on the unusually deep squares. With the armorial bookplate of Joseph Neeld. The binding which almost glows, and text are in pristine condition. A splendid set of this great seventeenth century history in defence of Henry VIII's reformation of the English Church and destruction of the monasteries.

London: William Pickering, 1844. Full morocco, 9 1/2 inches tall. An extraordinary and magnificent full hard grain morocco by Catherall & Pritchard with gilt raised bands, ornate gilt tooling to the panels and boards, gilt dentelles and all edges gauffered. Unpaginated, including facsimile title page and colophon of Richard Grafton (1550), printed in red and black throughout. Ornamental initials and woodcut headbands and musical notations. Light foxing. From the library, and with the bookplate of, R.H.L.-C. de Beaumont.

A reprint of a volume of selections from the 'Book of Common Prayer' as set to music by John Marbecke (or Merbecke). First printed in 1550 by Richard Grafton, and here reprinted by Charles Whittingham at the Chiswick Press.

Augsburg (Augustae Vindelicorum): Sumptibus ignatii adami & Francisci Antonii Veith, 1759. 6 volume set, 14.5 inches tall. Full vellum, dating from the middle of the 18th century with gilt tooled labels and unusual pink and green edges. The Codex Regularum, created in Aachen in 817, was designed by Benedict to restore the strict observation of monastic life which had been relaxed over recent centuries. Complete sets in contemporary bindings are scarce. There is some scuffing and staining to the vellum, in particular at the tails of each volume but there is no splitting and the bindings are in excellent condition. 2 bookplates. In the original Latin.

London: John Murray, 1872. 9 volume set, 7 inches tall. A splendid full vellum bound set of this classic work with raised bands, fine gilt tooled panels and twin labels, double gilt fillets frame the gilt embossed crest of the Hulme Bequest on the boards. Pink edges. Some marks to the bindings and foxing confined to the preliminaries. A handsome set of the greatest work of this English historian and ecclesiastic.

Leyden: Elzevir, 1658. Full morocco, 5 1/4 inches tall. A beautiful binding with gilt raised bands, delicate gilt tooling to the panels, triple fillet framing the boards and gilt dentelles and all edges. A tiny ink inscription on the reverse of the free endpaper. With the bookplate of Geoffrey Aspin who attributes the binding to Masson-Debonelle. A superb little Elzevir edition in excellent condition. In Latin.

Delft et Leiden: Beman et Samuel Luchtmans, 1729. Full morocco, 8.5 inches tall. A glorious binding by Clarke & Bedford with gilt raised bands, superb gilt tooling around a pomegranate centre tool, dentelles quadruple gilt fillet framing the boards. All edges gilt over marble. Engraved frontispiece and title page. A superb copy of these dialogues on many and various subjects, hugely influential on Christian Humanists, by the greatest scholar of the northern Renaissance. In the original Latin.

London: Arthur L. Humphreys, 1902. Full morocco, 6 1/2 inches tall. A superb full crushed morocco with raised bands, simple, yet very pleasing, geometric gilt tooling to the panels and boards. With gilt dentelles and all edges. Beautifully printed by Humphreys on handmade paper. A wonderful edition of this great devotional work.

La Haye (The Hague): Adrian Moetjens, 1682. 2 volumes bound in 1, 5.5 inches tall. A beautiful late 19th century full straight grain calf with raised bands, extra gilt panels and very fine and ornate gilt tooling to the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Watered silk doublures and free endpapers. From the Robert J. Hayhurst collection. In the original French.

Glasgow: William Collins, 1841. Full morocco, 7 inches tall. A lovely bright hard grain morocco for Hatchards with raised bands, and very fine gilt tooling to the panels and boards. There is a neat ink on the free endpaper 'Mary Cornelia S(?) from dear Lady Corbet. 1846'. M.C.S. has her initials and coronet on the upper board. Gauffered edges. Slight foxing to the preliminaries, then clean. A fine copy.

London: At the Chiswick Press for the Paris Académie Des Bibliophiles, 1868. Full morocco, 8 inches tall. A superb full straight grain morocco with gilt raised bands and very fine and rich gilt tooling to the panels and boards. With gilt dentelles and all edges. Slightly rubbed at the head and with a little staining to the upper board. This example is number 98 of 265 copies. This is a study of the Talmud by Deutch who came from Berlin, but worked in the department of oriental manuscripts at the British Museum.

London: George Bell & Sons 1878. 2 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A neat Victorian full calf binding by Hatchards with gilt raised bands, twin labels and delicate gilt tooling to the panels. A gilt prize block is framed on the upper boards by gilt and blind fillets. Prize bookplate. A very fine copy of the revised 4th edition.

Bristol: W. Richardson, 1828. Full blue calf, 5 1/2 inches tall. A delightful William IV diced calf on a very scarce title, we could only locate 2 examples of any edition in institutions. This copy is in remarkable condition with gilt raised bands, blind centre tool framed with gilt corner tools and a darker blue label. The dicing on the boards is framed within an ornate little gilt fillet. Bristol imprint. With the neat ink inscription "Mary Ann Marks. Aug. 1828 á Jesse" on the second blank. A little foxing on the engraved title page, otherwise clean. Some neat pencil underlining and highlighting.

Paris: Curmer, 1858. 2 volume set, 10.5 inches tall. A simple but pleasing mid 19th century full vellum with gilt bands, dentelles and all edges gilt. Each page decorated with wide lithographic borders. With the gilt stamp of 'Schafer of Piccadilly', purveyors of luxury items. A fine set of this classic Christian guide based on the monastic practice of devotional reading by the 'Gentleman Saint'.

London: Chapman & Hall, 1911. Full morocco, 8 inches tall. A superb full morocco by Bayntun with gilt raised bands, elegant gilt tooled panels and boards, wide dentelles and top edge gilt. A fine edition of this great English 17th century theologian's select essays.